'Portal meets Halo': Hot new free-to-play arena shooter gets free Steam open alpha
The original version of Splitgate was known for its solid gameplay mechanics, fast-paced movement, and portals, which add a lot of depth and strategy to what would otherwise be a pretty standard. Unfortunately, the free-to-play online multiplayer arena shooter effectively shut down when the studio abandoned future content because of technical difficulties in maintaining the game.
Fast-forward to today, two years and a lot of work later, and 1047 Games has officially announced the first open alpha playtest for Splitgate 2. Much like its predecessor, Splitgate 2 delivers the same portal-based combat and highly competitive, fast-paced gameplay, although there are a few interesting inclusions this time around, like multi-team gameplay with up to 8v8v8 matches on a "massive map." There are also hints of separate factions, which could mean that Splitgate 2 works in more hero shooter mechanics.
As is to be expected from the second game in a series, there are new maps, weapons, and gear, and 1047 Games says many of the changes it implemented are based on community feedback.
The open alpha test is free-to-play, which will apparently be the game's price going forward, and it appears to be open to anyone to join, as long as they have a Steam account, PS5, or Xbox Series S|X console (sorry Switch gamers). This first open alpha will only be available from February 27 until March 2, but the full game is slated to launch sometime in 2025.
At the time of writing, there are no publicly visible Steam reviews, but early comments on ProtonDB indicate that Splitgate 2 is not compatible with Linux. This means that, despite the moderate system requirements, which mandate a 2nd-Gen Intel Core i5 and AMD Radeon RX 470, handheld gaming will likely be limited to the likes of the Lenovo Legion Go (curr. $649.99 at Best Buy) or Asus ROG Ally X (curr. $799.99 at Best Buy).
Source(s)
Hey, Splitfam. We’re doing an Open Alpha preview of the work we’ve done on Splitgate 2, available to everyone for four days from Feb. 27 to March 2. Come play with us!
This is your first chance to check out our new Multi-Team Portal Warfare, 8v8v8 battles of colossal proportions set on a massive map. Plus, we’ve got new arena maps, new weapons, new gear, and hundreds of improvements based on community feedback.
Anyone with a Steam account, a PS5, or an Xbox Series X|S can register and play—for free, as always. Read on for more details about what will be included in the Open Alpha.
MULTI-TEAM PORTAL WARFARE ON A MASSIVE NEW MAP
Multi-Team Portal Warfare is an all new 8v8v8 experience.
Game modes include Multi-Team Hotzone, Multi-Team Domination, and Multi-Team Deathmatch.
To fit our biggest modes yet, we had to make our biggest map yet: Glacier. It’s 20 times bigger than any of our arena maps.
For the lore wolves out there, you might notice that the skybox doesn’t quite look like anything in our solar system—be on the lookout for other clues about what’s to come.
NEW ARENA MODE: SPLITBALL
Splitball is one of two new arena modes we’re debuting in this Open Alpha, joining our other core modes, Hotzone and Team Deathmatch.
Splitball is a twist on classic arena modes like Capture the Flag and Oddball.
To win, you play offense and defense at the same time, scrambling to capture and return Splitballs that spawn in neutral locations back to your base, while trying to steal Splitballs from the enemy base—and preventing them from stealing yours.
For OG Splitgate players, take note: this mode is completely different from the Splitball in the first Splitgate. Same name, but a completely reimagined mode to be sportier and better than ever.
NEW ARENA MODE: FIRECRACKER
Firecracker is our other new arena mode. As we were developing this mode internally, the working title was simply “Assault.”
Firecracker was inspired by Call of Duty’s Search and Destroy, but with the addition of respawns and other changes. The end result combines the thrilling strategy of a round-based, Attack/Defense shooter with Splitgate style.
Teams take turns attempting to successfully plant and defend the Firecracker, resulting in an explosion of fireworks. Heads up: if you make it to a final tiebreaker round, both teams are on offense and defense at the same time.
In our lore, this mode has its origin as a military training exercise for the Sabrask faction.
MORE NEW WEAPONS
Our first Closed Alpha had four weapons per faction; this upcoming Open Alpha will have eight weapons per faction (five primary, three secondary) for a total of twenty-four weapons to experiment with in your loadouts.
Check out new guns like the Sabrask Goliath revolver, the Meridian Phasma SMG, the Aeros Blitz shotgun, and more.
We’ve also added two additional power weapons since the Closed Alpha, like the triumphant return of our BFB.
MORE NEW EQUIPMENT
There’s also now nine different pieces of equipment to deepen the strategic possibilities at hand, three per faction.
Be sure to check out the Sabrask Sandstorm grenade (like a smoke grenade, but sandier), the Meridian Regen Cloud (an explosion of health for you and your teammates), and the Aeros Porta-Portal (a deploy-anywhere temporary portal, freeing you from the need to place portals on the arena’s pre-set walls).
LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY
Thanks to all of the community feedback we’ve gotten from playtests and gameplay we’ve shared online, we’ve made a litany of improvements to every single aspect of the game.
We heard that you wanted more action, so we made respawns shorter and rounds longer.
We also heard that you wanted more portaling options, so we added more portal walls to our existing maps, and added new portal opportunities like a Launch Portal, a combination of a portal wall and a launch pad that will send you flying.
To learn more about how seriously we take community feedback, you can read more about the changes in this message from Ian Proulx, cofounder and CEO of 1047 Games, or watch this Dev Talk from Ian and our other co-founder, Nicholas Bagamian.
TWITCH DROPS ENABLED
Watch Splitgate 2 streams on Twitch during the Open Alpha to earn the Haunt Cadence, a weapon skin for the Aeros carbine.
1047 GIFTED SUBS
The Splitgate 2 community team will be gifting 1047 Twitch subs throughout the Open Alpha weekend.
Be on the lookout for our team as they hop into Splitgate 2 Twitch streams and give out subs!
HUNT THE DEVS, EARN REWARDS
Want to be the first to earn a Dev Killer skin? All you have to do is kill one of our devs in a match anytime during the Open Alpha.
You can tell when you encounter a 1047 developer because their head will be a disco ball, our company logo.
You’ll earn a Dev Killer skin, decked out in skulls representing your dev conquest.
There’s three different skins to earn, one for each faction. You earn the same skin as the dev you kill. So, kill a dev playing as Sabrask with a disco ball head, you’ll earn the Sabrask Dev Killer skin (regardless of what faction you were playing as).
OPEN ALPHA COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Share your Splitgate 2 clips with us on social and tag us for a chance to have your content featured on our channels.
We’re also hosting two Community Challenges during the Open Alpha.
Submit your best Porta-Portal plays or Hunt the Devs kill reels in our Discord and the most upvoted clips will win Steam gift cards.
READY TO PLAY?
Thanks for reading, Splitfam. Remember, even with all of these new updates and features, this is just the beginning. The Open Alpha represents less than half of all of the new content we’re going to have in the full version at launch.
Again, you can find the Open Alpha on Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. No need to sign up, just portal into the action on your gaming system of choice Feb 27 to March 2.
And to keep in the loop about our full launch later this year, be the first to know by staying in touch with us on our Discord or signing up for our newsletter on splitgate.com.
